Pennyrile Area Development District Receives National Association of Development Organizations 2019 Impact Award

WASHINGTON, DC – Pennryile Area Development District based in Hopkinsville, Kentucky has received a 2019 Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) for the Fort Campbell Strong Initiative.
The Ft. Campbell Strong initiative is a collaborative effort that began in 2015 to define a path for economic diversification and growth in the six-county region surrounding the Ft. Campbell Army Base including Christian, Todd, and Trigg counties in Kentucky along with Montgomery, Stewart, and Robertson counties in Tennessee. In a joint effort, the Kentucky and Tennessee region surrounding Fort Campbell completed a multi-phased integrated effort to clearly identify and assess the impact of military personnel reductions while developing a long-term economic diversification and growth plan that reduces the region’s reliance on Fort Campbell. The purpose of the planning effort was to not only address short term fiscal, economic and social impacts of the reduction of troops, but to develop a long term road to recovery and diversification of the economic base of the region surrounding Fort Campbell. The result of the planning process, the Fort Campbell Strong Economic Diversification and Growth Plan, identifies opportunities that the region can pursue collectively that will help expand the economy, strengthen regional partnerships, and reduce the economic dependence on Fort Campbell. Two primary implementation opportunities emerged from the planning process: a Workforce Development program and the formation of a regional Defense Alliance organization. Beyond the goal of promoting economic diversification, these strategies are intended to lay the foundation for greater regional cooperation between agencies and organizations in Kentucky and Tennessee. Each of the six counties involved in the projects, as well as the educational institutions identified, have committed money, time, and other resources in support of the identified implementation strategies.
NADO is a Washington, DC-based membership association of regional development organizations that promote programs and policies that strengthen local governments, communities, and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery, and comprehensive strategies. The association’s Impact Awards program recognizes regional development organizations and their partners for improving the economic and community competitiveness of our nation’s regions and local communities.
Award-winning projects were honored during NADO’s 2019 Annual Training Conference, held October 19-22 in Reno, NV. The 2019 class of award recipients consists of 100 projects from 66 organizations spanning 24 states. These projects are presented in an interactive “Story Map” developed by NADO and CivicLens that includes project summaries and partners. The Story Map is available online at: https://www.nado.org/impactawards/.
“The Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Awards program is an opportunity each year for NADO to publicly recognize the important services that regional development organizations deliver to their local communities,” said 2018-2019 NADO President Scott Koons, executive director of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council, located in Gainesville. “The projects awarded have made significant impacts on their regions and demonstrate the diversity of programs and resources provided by regional development organizations across the country.”
The NADO Impact Awards are presented in honor of the late Aliceann Wohlbruck who was NADO’s first executive director and served 24 years as a tireless champion for regional approaches to economic development in rural communities.
For more information about this award-winning project, contact Jason Vincent at 270-886-9484 or via email at [email protected].

Pictured L to R: Judge Garrett Gruber (Livingston Co.), Mayor Arthur Green (City of Elkton), Amy Frogue (PADD Associate Director – CED), Roger Simpson (Crittenden Co.), Jason Vincent (PADD Executive Director), Scott Koons (NADO President & Executive Director of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council), Mayor Kevin Cotton (City of Madisonville), Rory Malloy (Executive Director of Ft. Campbell Strong Defense Alliance), John Mahre (Christian Co.), and Mayor Jan Yonts (City of Greenville)

### Since 1967 the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) has provided advocacy, education, networking, and research for the national network of 540 regional development organizations. NADO members provide professional, programmatic, and technical assistance to over 2,300 counties and 15,000 municipalities.